The NFL owners are expected to reengage in talks about the polarizing tush push on Wednesday at league meetings.
Last month, owners tabled the vote on a proposal to ban the play that became the Philadelphia Eagles' calling card over the past couple of seasons. As the vote nears, some prominent Philadelphia Eagles spoke out about the controversial short yardage play.
"But I can't control it. We can't control it. So, we don't even worry about it. Right now, we're just installing our schemes, whatever [offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo] is installing that day, that's what we're focused on because worrying about if they're going to ban the tush push or not ain't going to win us a championship."
.The Green Bay Packers submitted a proposal to ban the tush push.
"We'll see where that goes," Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. "We're not waiting very long to figure it out. It's going to be public [Wednesday]. And you know how I feel about it."
At last month's league meetings, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie described the tush push as "precision play" and credited quarterback Jalen Hurts for helping make the play routinely successful.
ESPN reported that the tush push was utilized in just 0.28% of total plays last season.
Caitlin Clark became the co-owner of yet another WNBA record, but her performance came in a losing effort.
The Atlanta Dream took down Clark's Indiana Fever, 91-90, in a thriller in Indianapolis Tuesday night, all while Clark rewrote the history books again.
Indiana trailed, 44-42, at the half, while Clark was on pace for a second triple-double in as many games this season. However, the Dream went on an 11-0 run, and it looked like all was over.
Trailing by 11 to start the fourth, Clark hit two deep 3-pointers and handed out a nifty behind-the-back assist to cut the deficit to four.
Indiana could not inch closer for several minutes but finally tied the game with just over a minute left. Aliyah Boston then went to the line with 21.7 seconds left and gave the Fever their first lead since they scored the first basket of the game. The foul against Boston was committed by Brittney Griner, who fouled out on the play.
Rhyne Howard of Atlanta, though, hit two free throws with 9.7 seconds left to take a one-point lead. Clark inbounded the ball but never touched it again. The Fever missed two shots to take the lead, and the Dream took home a thrilling victory.
Clark finished with 27 points and 11 assists. It's the 10th 20-point, 10-assist game for Clark in her young career, tying Courtney Vandersloot's WNBA record. Vandersloot has played in 430 games. Clark has played in just 42.
Clark also notched her 350th career assist Tuesday in her 42nd career game. It's the fastest a WNBA player has gotten to 350 assists. She also now has over 800 points, becoming the fourth fastest in the league to reach that milestone.
Griner finished the game with 21 points and eight rebounds.
It was the Fever's first game since the WNBA announced it was investigating reports of "hateful comments" directed toward Angel Reese Saturday during a game against Indiana. Clark's Fever defeated Reese's Sky, 93-58, and Clark was called for a flagrant foul against Reese, which resulted in Reese being held back from Clark.
In two games, Clark is averaging 23.5 points and 10.5 assists.
Brian Williams, who played for the Texas A&M football team for three seasons, died just hours after he completed a half-marathon, the family confirmed. The race took place in Irving, Texas.
The 24-year-old died on Sunday due to heat stroke complications, Brian's brother, Rawleigh Williams III, told the Dallas Morning News.
"B you are my heart," Rawleigh wrote in a social media post alongside photos of himself and his brother. "The BEST version of us in every single way B. I don’t think I can make it without you but I’m going to try for our parents and our sister. I love you brother."
Williams' mother, Kimberly, also paid tribute to her son.
"I cannot believe you are gone," she wrote on Instagram. "Our hearts hurt more than words can say. You were the best human we knew – the kindest, purest in heart, and most humble despite all you accomplished. You loved God and you loved us. Now, you are with him – total peace, total joy, – watching over us. We love you and we will see you again."
Williams earned an engineering degree from A&M in 2024. According to the Morning News, Williams was living in the Dallas-Fort Worth area prior to his death.
A 21-year-old has been charged with providing alcohol to the Pittsburgh Pirates fan who fell from the stands onto the field last month, according to multiple reports.
Kavan Markwood, a 20-year-old former college football player, was identified as the man who fell more than 20 feet onto the right field warning track.
According to reports, Ethan Kirkwood was charged with furnishing alcohol to a minor.
WTAE cited a criminal complaint that highlighted surveillance video that showed Kirkwood and Markwood with alcohol several times. The complaint said Kirkwood admitted buying Markwood alcohol.
Pittsburgh police did not immediately respond to an email from Fox News Digital.
Markwood lay on the dirt in right field after flipping multiple times through the air during the seventh inning of a Pirates’ game against the Chicago Cubs.
The 20-year-old broke his neck, clavicle and back in the fall, but Markwood says he is "all right" despite a long road to recovery.
"I can’t really sleep. I have a lot of back pain," he told TribLive.
Markwood described his injuries as "broken everything," which also included a swollen hand.
"I think when I get home, I’ll just put ice on it," he added.
After the accident, Markwood was rushed to Allegheny General Hospital’s trauma unit, where he was in critical condition at one point.
Pittsburgh Public Safety labeled what happened an accident, and fans sitting near Markwood said he had gotten excited about a Pirates’ rally during the game and proceeded to take his shirt off and pour beer on himself before the fall, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Markwood played for two Division II football programs, Walsh University and Wheeling University. He played at Wheeling in 2023, appearing in four games, according to the team’s site.
Fox News' Scott Thompson contributed to this report.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is facing a lawsuit for enabling trans athletes to compete in girls sports as the state faces an ongoing controversy involving a trans pitcher dominating the softball season.
The religious law firm Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the activist group Female Athletes United and three anonymous girls softball players in the state over the ongoing controversy.
"Minnesota is failing its female athletes. The state is putting the rights of males ahead of females, telling girls their hard work may never be enough to win and that they don’t deserve fairness and safety," Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Suzanne Beecher told Fox News Digital.
"By sacrificing protection for female athletes, Minnesota fails to offer girls equal treatment and opportunity, violating Title IX’s provisions. Our client, Female Athletes United, is right to stand up for its members by challenging the state’s discriminatory policy and advocate for true equality in sports."
The defendants are Ellison, the Minnesota State High School League Executive Director Erich Martens, Minnesota Department of Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero and Minnesota Commissioner of Education Willie Jett.
Ellison's office has released a statement responding to the lawsuit.
"In addition to getting exercise and the fun of competition, playing sports comes with so many benefits for young people. You build friendships that can last a lifetime, you learn how to work as part of a team, and you get to feel like you belong," Ellison said.
"I believe it is wrong to single out one group of students, who already face higher levels of bullying and harassment, and tell these kids they cannot be on the team because of who they are. I will continue to defend the rights of all students to play sports with their friends and peers."
Reports of the trans softball pitcher winning 14 straight games heading into the playoffs and earning first-team All-State honors rocked the state in recent weeks.
Former Vikings player Jack Brewer even spoke out about the controversy rocking his state's high school sports scene.
"In any sport — especially something like softball — people can get seriously hurt. A man hits the ball harder. A man throws the ball faster. So, the idea of allowing men to compete in women’s softball — especially now, when that sport has grown in visibility and opportunity — is insane," Brewer told Fox News Digital.
Meanwhile, Ellison is suing President Donald Trump and the Department of Justice to ensure transgender athletes can continue participating in girls sports in the state.
After Trump signed the "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" executive order, the Minnesota State High School League announced it would defy federal law by allowing transgender athletes to continue playing in women's sports.
Ellison then claimed at a press conference on April 22 that he received notice from the Department of Justice threatening legal action if the state did not follow the executive order, so the AG decided to sue first.
"I'm not going to sit around waiting for the Trump administration to sue Minnesota. Today, Minnesota is suing him and his administration because we will not participate in this shameful bullying," Ellison said. "We will not let a small group of vulnerable children who are only trying be healthy and live their lives be demonized."
The White House has responded to the lawsuit, condemning Ellison for taking legal action to enable trans inclusion.
"Why would a grown man sue the Trump administration to allow other biological males to participate in women’s sports? This is creepy and anti-woman," White House spokesperson Harrison Fields told Fox News Digital.
Minnesota's state legislature failed to pass the "Preserving Girls’ Sports Act" in early March, which would have stated that "only female students may participate in an elementary or secondary school level athletic team or sport that an educational institution has restricted to women and girls."
Olympic wrestling gold medalist Kyle Snyder pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct after he was arrested in connection to a prostitution sting last week.
The decorated American wrestler initially faced a charge of engaging in prostitution after he was taken into custody this month in Columbus, Ohio. He was at a hotel at the time of the arrest.
He appeared at the hearing via video. Snyder said he has learned a lot about himself and that he "plans on making much better decisions."
"I learned about the impact these decisions have on not just my family but the community," he said.
Snyder became the youngest American wrestler to win Olympic gold at age 20 during the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, and he followed that up with a silver at the Tokyo Games.
He lost in the bronze medal match at the Paris Olympics. He was also a three-time NCAA champion at Ohio State.
He recently signed on with the Real American Freestyle wrestling league, which has pro wrestling icon Hulk Hogan as its commissioner and is slated to hold its first event on Aug. 30 in Cleveland.
Jalen Hurts said he did not visit the White House last month simply because he couldn't.
The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, who won the Super Bowl LIX MVP in dethroning the Kansas City Chiefs, was absent from the team's celebration in Washington, D.C., last month, warranting much speculation.
Days before the event, Hurts was asked whether he planned on visiting, and was mum on the subject.
"Um," Hurts said before looking around. He never answered the question as the interviewer thanked him for his time.
Fox News then confirmed at the time that Hurts did not attend due to "scheduling conflicts," and he's sticking to that story.
"I wasn’t available. I don’t think that’s pertinent. Everyone who went, and was available. They seemed to enjoy themselves," he told reporters on Tuesday.
Hurts didn’t give a glowing review of the president’s decision to attend Super Bowl LIX, which saw Philadelphia defeat the Chiefs 40-22.
"He's welcome to do what he wants," Hurts said in February.
Meanwhile, running back Saquon Barkley was seen with President Donald Trump at his golf course in New Jersey the day before the visit. He rode back to Washington on Air Force One with the president.
Hurts, though, raised eyebrows again when he attended the Met Gala the following week.
Hurts was not the only Eagles player to skip their White House visit. Star wide receivers A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith were also among players not present.
When the Eagles won the Super Bowl back in 2018, the team decided not to attend the White House. Trump rescinded the invitation to host the Eagles after several players said they would not participate in the visit because of his previous criticisms of national anthem protests.
The Los Angeles Dodgers visited the White House several weeks before the Eagles did to commemorate their World Series title. Mookie Betts, who skipped a visit in 2019 with the Boston Red Sox, attended this year.
Fox News' Ryan Gaydos and Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.
Maine state representative Laurel Libby is allowed to vote for her constituents after three months of being censured, thanks to a 7-2 Supreme Court decision Tuesday.
After the state's Democrat majority voted to strip Libby of her voting rights in February for making a social media post that called out a biologically trans athlete who won a girls' pole vault competition, she fought a legal battle to overturn it all the way up to the Supreme Court. And it paid off with Tuesday's decision.
Libby called the battle a 'civil rights' case in an interview with Fox News Digital.
"I most certainly do believe this is a civil rights issue for Maine girls and girls across the country who are being sidelines by biological males," Libby said, later adding that the censure "was political retaliation from start to finish," over her vocal stance on trans athlete inclusion.
Libby believes the ruling is essential in order to protect Americans who want to speak out against allowing trans athletes in girls' and women's sports while the country is in a pivotal standoff over the issue.
"Thankfully the Supreme Court saw the merits and the high stakes with this case, and really what was on the line not just for just me, my constituents in Maine, but really the entire country if this was upheld… No one should ever be silenced for speaking up on behalf of our girls," Libby said.
"Now we have a ruling from the Supreme Court that says no one can be silenced for speaking the truth even if it's an unpopular truth. So I hope we will be seeing more folks speaking up on behalf of women and girls and their rights."
The main defendant in Libby's lawsuit, Maine House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, who passed the censure against Libby on Feb. 15, has vowed to restore Libby's voting rights to comply with the Supreme Court ruling.
"In accordance with the Supreme Court’s injunction pending appeal, Representative Libby’s ability to vote on the floor of the House has been restored until the current appeal process runs its course," Fecteau told Fox News Digital. "The Clerk of the House, whom the injunction is against, has already complied with this court ruling. We look forward to continuing with the important work Maine people expect of us."
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that requires states only allow females to compete, but multiple Democrat-run states, including Maine, have defied the order and continued to enable trans inclusion.
The U.S. Department of Justice and Attorney General Pam Bondi have even filed their own separate lawsuit against the state of Maine for continuing to defy the order.
Libby has been a central figure in the conservative pushback against Democrat policies that enable trans inclusion in girls' sports in Maine. In addition to her lawsuit against Fecteau, Libby has been repeatedly critical of Mills for her refusal to comply with Trump.
"Ryan Fecteau and Janet Mills have been ruling our state for the last six years with an iron fist regardless of the will of Maine people," Libby said. "This sends a message that they can not continue to operate outside of the constitution and ignore the will of Maine people any longer."
A survey by the American Parents Coalition found that out of about 600 registered Maine voters, 63% said that school sports participation should be based on biological sex, and 66% agreed it is "only fair to restrict women’s sports to biological women."
Many Maine residents have even entire school districts have stood up against Mills' policies alongside Libby. Maine's school districts RSU No. 24 and MSAD No. 70 have each passed their own localized resolutions to keep girls' spots for female students only. There have also been three large-scale protests against the current policies in the state's capital city Augusta since February.
And Libby has had the support of the federal government along the way.
Just days before the decision, the DOJ filed an amicus brief on Libby's behalf to the Supreme Court, and Bondi spoke out in support of the embattled lawmaker to Fox News Digital.
"I am so thankful for Attorney General Pam Bondi's response," Libby said.
However, Libby's legal battle is not done yet.
The Supreme Court decision has granted her back her right to vote on the state house floor, but she still does not have the right to speak. Libby's case will now go back to the First Circuit Court of Appeals for oral arguments on June 5, as she will look to regain her voting rights.
Additionally, Libby was not able to vote on several bills in the state legislature in the last three months during her censure. These included the state's bi-annual budget vote and a bill to codify the Maine Human Rights Act, which protects trans inclusion in girls' sports, into the state's constitution.
Libby said she believes the records should be reflected to include her vote on those bills as well, but does not yet know if she will be actively seeking to have those records changed legally yet.
The WNBA is investigating allegations that there were "hateful comments" directed at Angel Reese during the Chicago Sky's matchup against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever.
The Saturday matchup was the 2025 debut for both organizations and the second season for both players, whose rivalry began during the 2023 college national championship.
Clark was hit with a flagrant foul against Reese, and Reese had to be held back from Clark by others.
The specifics of the alleged incident have yet to be revealed.
Sky head coach Tyler Marsh admitted he found out about the alleged speech "when everyone else did," but Reese praised the league for looking into the matter.
"Obviously, there's no place in this league for that," Reese said on Tuesday. "I think the WNBA, our team, our organization has done a great job supporting me. I've had communication from everyone, from so many people across this league... Going through this whole process, it could happen to me. It could happen to anyone. I think they've done a great job in supporting us in this."
"Obviously it’s tough. But I think I have a great support system. I’m loved by so many people and obviously, in the moment, it is hard to hear. But my support system is great. God has protected me in so many ways," she added. "I’ve gone through so many different things in the past couple of years in my life, but I think just having the support and this love, and being a part of an organization that really supports me and loves me, is something I just couldn’t imagine not being a part of."
"They understand that this is the priority. Obviously, there's no place for this. I think two days before they put out ‘No Hate No Speech’. Obviously, the women in this league, they know that, and they know there's no space in that. I believe every player in this league deserves to be treated with respect and want to come to work and just have fun and have a great environment to work at. I think they've done a great job putting that out, and obviously, they're going to respond as they need to."
"There's no place for that in our game," Clark told reporters, via the Indy Star. "There's no place for that in society. Certainly we want every person that comes into our arena, whether player, whether fan, to have a great experience.
"I appreciate the league doing that. The Fever organization has been at the forefront of that since, really, day one, what they're doing. Hopefully the investigation — we'll leave that up to them to find anything and take the proper action if so."
Clark's Fever went 3-1 against the Sky last season and routed Chicago, 93-58, on Saturday. The two teams face off three more times this season, with both of their next two at the United Center in Chicago.
Saturday afternoon's matchup between the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky was the most-watched WNBA game ever on ESPN, and it lived up to expectations.
It was the season opener for both squads, and it was the first battle between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese since last year.
And while both players have said publicly there is no rivalry or animosity between them, there were fireworks when Clark committed a flagrant foul on Reese, and Reese had to be held back.
Following the game, the WNBA launched an investigation into alleged hateful comments against Reese. She claimed last year that Clark, Indiana, and University of Iowa fans, had been racist toward her throughout the season.
Amid the investigation, a TikTok user posted a video that said that saying there is a "rivalry" between the two teams, and players, would be "innappropriate…in relation to the severity at hand."
"The situation at hand is that when Angel Reese walks into the Indiana Fever arena, she is no longer safe. She is not safe, because there are some Indiana Fever fans who are racist, who will treat her like she is not a human being, who will hurl slurs and threats her way, and that is not OK. That's not a thing that happens in sports - it is not OK," the user said.
"You all knew that was going to happen. You all knew that environment is unsafe for Angel."
Reese reposted the video onto her own account.
Clark spoke about the probe into the alleged comments, saying there is "no place" for such speech.
"There's no place for that in our game," Clark told reporters, via the Indy Star. "There's no place for that in society. Certainly we want every person that comes into our arena, whether player, whether fan, to have a great experience.
"I appreciate the league doing that. The Fever organization has been at the forefront of that since, really, day one, what they're doing. Hopefully the investigation — we'll leave that up to them to find anything and take the proper action if so."
The Fever routed the Sky, 93-58, improving to 4-1 against Chicago since Clark and Reese joined the WNBA. The two teams will play each other three more times this year, with each of the next two taking place in Chicago at the United Center.
In just a few days, fans attending the Indianapolis 500 will have the opportunity to watch Oscar Mayer’s six iconic Wienermobiles.
The vehicles will come together for the first-ever "Wienie 500" race. The event will help kick off the race week's annual Carb Day festivities. The race will kick off at 2 p.m ET on Friday.
Each Wienermobile will represent a different region — the New York Dog for the East, Slaw Dog for the Southeast, Chilli Dog for the South, Chi Dog for the Midwest, Seattle Dog for the Northwest and Sonoran Dog for the Southwest.
The Indianapolis 500 has been around since 1911 and has produced countless memories over the past 108 years.
PREMA Racing driver Robert Shwartzman became the first Indy 500 rookie to qualify for the pole since 1983. Shwartzman, who has dual nationality in Israel and Russia, initially raced under the Russian flag.
He currently competes under the Israeli flag, which makes the Tel Aviv native the first driver from Israel to make "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."
The Indy 500 will be broadcast May 25 on FOX with pre-coverage starting at 10 a.m. ET. It will also be available to stream live on FOXSports.com and the FOX Sports app.
Before Jasper Troy received a contract for the WWE NXT brand, he had dreams of dominating in between the hashmarks instead of in between the ropes.
Troy, whose real name is Antoine Frazer, played college football at Northern Iowa before he decided to start his journey into a WWE ring. He told Fox News Digital that getting into the company was always dream for him, even back when he was picking up the sticks with his friends.
"For me, wrestling was always a dream. I know it’s so oversaid, but for me, I was really locked in every Monday, every Thursday. Sunday, I would watch the little preview pay-per-view channel just to get a glimpse of what the pay-per-view was going to be like," he said. "For me, it was begging for the newest ‘SmackDown vs. Raw’ (video game). Going to my friend’s house, and that’s what we would play all day and night."
Troy said football wasn’t fun anymore as he competed for the Panthers and finished his collegiate career.
Eventually, he said there came a point in which football wasn’t fun anymore. The sport he grew to love fell out of favor with him.
"Me and my brother, we would always talk about wrestling together," he said. "I was playing football, and I was lucky to be successful at playing football but, like (Tyra Mae Steele) said, it just got to a point where it wasn’t fun anymore.
"It stopped being about the things that made me love the sport, especially at a college level, a D1 level. There were so many more factors that, coming where I come from, I was exposed to at the time, but I don’t think I was mature enough to adapt to my surroundings as well as other guys on my team were."
He said there was a time when he had to make a decision about what came next, and his heart was set on pro wrestling. He said he had the support from his trainers, but they implored him to finish school first.
"When COVID hit I just had a chance to look away from football for like a year and really figure out what I wanted to do with my life," he told Fox News Digital. "I love football and I could keep chasing this dream and see how far I could really make it and I just kept seeing more wrestling on my TV during COVID.
"It was all perfect timing for me. As soon as I did my pro day, I had a tryout with the WWE, and after that, I just fell in love, and that was it. It was that fire I had when I was a kid. It was a whole new experience for me, and after that, I said, ‘I’m done with football. I’m a full-time WWE superstar.’"
Troy will now get to make an impact on the NXT roster and join the rising stars in the men’s division there.
Dave Portnoy will not let anyone say he is a Caitlin Clark fan simply because she is White.
In a recent edition of his podcast, ESPN analyst Ryan Clark name-dropped the Barstool Sports founder as someone on the "hate train" of Angel Reese following her spat with Clark over the weekend.
Clark said Portnoy, Keith Olbermann and Robert Griffin III have made Reese the "villain" and Clark "heroic."
Portnoy posted a video over six minutes long in which he said he "can't believe I'm ranting about this again," responding to Clark.
Portnoy made it a point to mention that he is "sure there are some Black people who hate Caitlin just because she's White. I'm sure there are White people who hate Angel just because she's Black."
But he is not one of those people, and he believed the Reese hate is warranted.
"Caitlin fans have every reason to hate Angel Reese. … Fever fans, Caitlin fans should hate Angel Reese. Angel Reese has been nothing but an instigator, agitator and jacka-- basically for the last couple years," Portnoy said in his video.
"Angel Reese has doubled down, tripled down, quadrupled down and has built her persona as Caitlin's rival. … It's one thing after another, after another. … The jealousy that Angel Reese has towards her and has consistently shown makes Caitlin fans hate her. … When you have one player that's constantly poking at you, constantly degrading you, yes, you're going to f---ing hate her."
"I'm sick of ESPN making it a race issue," he continued. "You have a superior basketball player who constantly has someone below taking shots at them, won't shut up and then plays the victim. … If [Angel] didn't have Caitlin, nobody would know who she is. If Caitlin didn't have Angel, it would be the same popularity for Caitlin."
Clark and Reese got into a mini-scuffle after Clark fouled Reese hard; it was ruled a flagrant. Clark later labeled the foul as a "good take foul," as she didn't want Reese to have a "free two points" underneath the basket. Reese later agreed despite her visible frustrations early on.
Clark and Reese have major history going back to the 2023 NCAA women’s basketball national championship. Both players downplayed the incident. Both have even said there's no rivalry between them and that it's been driven by the media.
Portnoy attended the contest and said Reese "deserved to get booed" after getting upset with Clark. He was also upset with the WNBA's investigation into alleged hate comments directed toward Reese.
"Listen, I was at the game. If there was somebody being racist or saying s---, obviously boot them, never let them back," Portnoy said. "I would be stunned beyond belief if that was the case. … The crowd at the Fever game? Little girls, families, ladies, nice crowd. Were we mad when Angel Reese attacked Cailtin Clark for no reason? Yeah. Did we boo her? Yeah. Is it sports? Yeah.
"For the WNBA and now the Indiana Fever to issue statements, ‘We’re investigating,’ unless something so preposterous happened that nobody in the stadium saw, there’s not an ounce of proof, there’s not a video of it, there’s [no] camera phone of it, unless something happened, which I know it didn’t. For them to acknowledge this and, again, kind of paint Indiana Fever fans, like, by just saying ‘We’re investigating the hate’ … even though it’s 100% false, by acknowledging, ‘We don’t condone hate,' and not seeing that this was an internet rumor founded of complete bulls---, you’re lending credence to this."
Clark told ESPN’s Holly Rowe after the third quarter that there had been "nothing malicious" behind the foul.
Fox News' Chantz Martin contributed to this report.
"Players have expressed to us a great desire for the honor of competing in the Olympics, and we're excited that our members will be able to represent their country on the highest international stage," NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell said in a statement. "We look forward to working with the league, IFAF and Olympic authorities on the terms of their participation to ensure players who compete will do so with protections to their health, safety and job."
When he heard the news he'd be allowed to participate, Justin Jefferson said he was "at a loss for words."
"To think about the chance of playing in the Olympics and getting a gold medal, it’s a dream," he said.
The league has experimented with flag football, replacing its Pro Bowl with skill competitions, including a flag football game.
Last month, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said interest in competing in the Summer Olympics has been a hot topic in the league, adding a resolution on the issue may be forthcoming.
"Well, I’ve heard directly from a lot of players who want to participate and represent their country, whether it’s the United States or a country that they came from," Goodell said in April.
"I think that's something that we'll continue to discuss with, not just the union, but also the clubs. I think both of those are things that we'll probably resolve sometime in the next 60 days."
Several players have shown interest, including Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, Aaron Jones, and Kyle Juszczyk. Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who won the Super Bowl in February, was also recently tabbed the flag football ambassador for the Games.
It's not a secret that former ESPN colleagues Ryan Clark and Sage Steele aren't the best of friends, but Steele made perhaps her most damning comment about the ex-NFL player to date Tuesday.
On the latest edition of his podcast, Clark suggested former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III is "not having conversations at home about what Black women have to endure in this country" considering his wife is White.
Clark made the comment while calling out Griffin for boarding "the hate train" after Angel Reese's scuffle with Caitlin Clark over the weekend. Ryan Clark also mentioned Dave Portnoy and former ESPN staffer Keith Olbermann as talking heads who make Reese out to be a "villain" and Clark "heroic."
"Another classless, divisive, gross, unnecessary comment from Ryan Clark. But…it’s par for the course. We should expect nothing less. Shameful," Steele posted on X.
Steele and Ryan Clark have had a beef in the past. Clark has said he had "no issue" with Steele being a conservative, but one of Steele's previous comments about former president Barack Obama "offended" him. As a result, he asked for another host for an ESPN segment. Steele is suing ESPN, and one of her allegations is that Clark refused to work with her because of her political views.
Steele once said it was "fascinating" that Obama labeled himself as "Black" "considering his Black dad was nowhere to be found, but his white mom and grandma raised him."
"Because what I know is this … chemistry is a large part of TV. It’s a large part of our ability to be able to entertain. And I didn’t want my discomfort with what she said to show on screen," Ryan Clark said.
Ryan Clark said it was a one-time thing with Steele, and they were able to "work … in a very cordial way" until she left ESPN. He added they no longer speak, "but I obviously wish her all the best in all her endeavors."
Caitlin Clark was assessed a flagrant foul on the play mentioned, and, during an in-game interview, she said it was a "good take foul," a notion Reese later agreed with.
Caitlin Clark's Indiana Fever routed Reese's Chicago Sky, 93-58.
The Jordon Hudson-Bill Belichick saga took another wild twist Tuesday when a report revealed she has told at least one person they are engaged to be married.
The bombshell revelation was a small nugget in The New York Times’ profile of Hudson, who has risen from champion cheerleading coach to being in a relationship with one of the most famous men in football of this generation.
Fox News Digital reached out to Hudson for comment.
The first notion of the two considering marriage was broached in Page Six. A report from the gossip outlet said the two "discussed marriage," which wasn’t "out of the question."
The report added at the time that Hudson didn't "put any pressure on Bill at all to propose, and she feels like it will happen when and if the time is right."
The two were first publicly linked last year, three years after meeting on a flight. They apparently had gotten more serious after his breakup from Linda Holliday in 2022.
Belichick, 73, attended a cheer competition last year in support of Hudson. Afterward, she attended Tom Brady's Patriots Hall of Fame induction ceremony in June, shortly before reports surfaced she and Belichick had been dating.
Hudson was by Belichick’s side at the NFL Honors in February.
The relationship was put under the microscope in recent weeks when Hudson shut down a question during a CBS interview about how the two met. It sparked dueling statements from Belichick and CBS about the question being asked.
Hudson, 24, appeared in the Miss Maine USA pageant and finished second runner-up.
The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Maine state legislature to revoke its censure of GOP state representative Laurel Libby on Tuesday. Libby has been censured since Feb. 15 for a social media post that identified a transgender Maine high school athlete who won a girls' pole vault competition.
In a 7-2 decision, the court ruled that Libby's entitlement to relief from the censure is "indisputably clear."
The GOP lawmaker celebrated the Supreme Court decision in an X post.
"This is a victory not just for my constituents, but for the Constitution itself. The Supreme Court has affirmed what should NEVER have been in question — that no state legislature has the power to silence an elected official simply for speaking truthfully about issues that matter," Libby wrote.
Meanwhile, Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.
Jackson criticized the grant of emergency relief for Libby, and broader concerns of ‘shadow docket’ emergency appeals.'
"The watering down of our Court’s standards for granting emergency relief is, to me, an unfortunate development," Jackson said. "At the very least, by lowering the bar for granting emergency relief, the Court itself will bear responsibility for the resulting systemic disruption, as a surge in requests for our 'extraordinary' intervention—at earlier and earlier stages of ongoing lower court proceedings, and with greater and greater frequency—will undoubtedly follow."
Ever since her censure was placed in February, Libby has argued that her post did not initially publicize the incident or the figure, since the athlete had already been publicized in other media.
Libby previously told Fox News Digital that no one from the school or the athlete's family ever reached out to her about the post.
The first person Libby says she heard from that took issue with her post was Maine House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, who she is now suing for censuring her over the post.
"He found it objectionable and asked me to take it down, at the same time I asked him if he would support Maine girls, and support policy that stopped discrimination against Maine young women in sports and he declined to answer," Libby said. "The main criticism all along from the Democrats is that it was a picture of a minor."
Fecteau's office previously provided documents to Fox News Digital confirming the conversation took place.
"I am asking you to take the post down," Fecteau wrote in a letter to Libby on Feb. 18. "In addition to risking the young person's safety, your post violates one of the long held political traditions of ‘leaving kids out of it’ — a tradition that has even been observed by political pundits with regard to the treatment of kids who are in the White House, the most scrutinized office in the nation."
Then, after the censure was passed at the state house in February, Fecteau told Libby that the censure would be revoked if she apologized for the social media post. But Libby firmly refused.
Instead, the state representative filed a lawsuit to have the censure overturned, but was ruled against by Rhode Island U.S. District Court Judge Melissa DuBose, who was appointed by former President Biden in January. DuBose presided over the case after every district judge in Maine refused to take the case.
Libby then filed an appeal to First Circuit Court of Appeals, but was ruled against there too. So she took her case to the Supreme Court in April.
The defendants, Fecteau and House Clerk Robert Hunt, represented by Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey, defended the decision to censure Libby for the February post in their response to the Supreme Court appeal last week.
"Like other censures of Maine House members, the censure resolution required Rep. Libby to apologize for her conduct—not recant her views. Rep. Libby has steadfastly refused to comply with this modest punishment, which is designed to restore the integrity and reputation of the body," the response read.
"Her refusal places her in breach of a centuries-old rule of the Maine House, Rule 401(11), that Rep. Libby previously agreed, along with all of her House colleagues, would govern House proceedings. Rule 401(11) provides that a member found by the body to be in breach of its rules may not participate in floor debates or vote on matters before the full House until they have 'made satisfaction,' i.e., here, apologized for their breach."
Libby had the support of the U.S. Department of Justice and Attorney General Pam Bondi, who filed an amicus brief supporting Libby in her lawsuit, and Bondi has personally spoken out in support of the embattled Republican state representative.
"The Department of Justice is proud to fight for girls in Maine and stand alongside Rep. Libby, who is being attacked simply for defending girls in her home state. As our lawsuit against the state of Maine illustrates, we will always protect girls’ sports and girls’ spaces from radical gender ideology," Bondi told Fox News Digital.
Fox News' Shannon Bream and William Mears contributed to this report.
The Phoenix Suns and Mercury fired back at an accusation in a recent lawsuit that claimed the franchises’ CEO Josh Bartelstein was having an affair with WNBA player Sophie Cunningham.
The accusation surfaced in a lawsuit from former employee Gene Traylor against Suns Legacy Partners, LLC. The lawsuit was publicized last week, but one detail came to light during the week.
Traylor said in the lawsuit he met with Josh Bartelstein, who is married, and told him that Cornelius Craig, the teams’ vice president of security of security and risk management, had been going around telling people that Bartelstein was having an affair with Cunningham.
"When Bartelstein asked Plaintiff to reveal what Craig was saying, Plaintiff explained that Craig had been telling others, ‘Josh Bartelstein is f-----g Sophie Cunningham,’" the lawsuit filed in Arizona District Court read. "Additionally, Plaintiff requested that Bartelstein speak with the security team about Craig’s behavior."
The Suns responded in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"The recent reports concerning Josh Bartelstein and Sophie Cunningham are entirely false and morally reprehensible. Let’s be absolutely clear about the origin of these claims," Suns senior vice president of communications Stacey Mitch said.
"Attorney Sheree Wright, a personal injury and immigration lawyer, currently serving a two year probation with the Arizona State Bar for violating the rules of professional conduct, sees an opportunity because of the reports about previous ownership. Ms. Wright has now filed four separate lawsuits against the organization, seeking over $140 million dollars in compensation. To date, her cases have been dismissed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Arizona Civil Rights Division or voluntarily withdrawn.
"She continues to insert salacious lies and fabrications into her complaints—knowing that the media may report them as fact, as happened yesterday—she hopes to coerce the Phoenix Suns into settling. Sheree Wright will not extort our organization and never see a single dollar.
"We will pursue all available legal avenues and hold those accountable for participating in the spread of misleading and false narratives."
Wright is one of the attorneys representing Traylor in the case.
She responded to the Suns' statement later Tuesday.
"The Phoenix Suns’ statement is not only defamatory, it is an act of open retaliation against protected legal advocacy," Wright told Fox News Digital. "I stand firmly behind the allegations brought in our federal complaint, which are based on documented evidence, corroborated witness accounts, and facts that the Suns would prefer remain buried. The claim involving Sophie Cunningham is not fabricated—it was corroborated long before the complaint was filed, and the organization is well aware of this.
The Suns’ latest statement falsely accuses me of filing lawsuits to extort the organization and attacks my professional record in an effort to deflect from the egregious conduct alleged by multiple former employees. I will not be intimidated by public relations spin or personal smear tactics. I am not the only attorney involved in these lawsuits."
Wright called the Suns’ alleged attempt to dismiss her resume as a lawyer "disgraceful."
"Before becoming an attorney, I served as an investigator at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for over seven years. I know how to identify patterns of workplace discrimination and retaliation, and I bring that experience to every case I litigate. It is disgraceful that the organization and its representatives are trying to discredit my legal and investigative background rather than address the substance of the claims brought under federal civil rights laws.
"As for the bar reference: I am a licensed attorney in good standing. The two-year probation they cite has no bearing on the merits of this case and is being weaponized in a desperate attempt to silence and discredit a Black woman standing up to corporate misconduct. That speaks volumes about their priorities."
She made clear she would not be "bullied" or "silenced."
"My clients deserve to be heard. If the Suns believe the facts are on their side, they are free to produce their executives and employees under oath in a court of law. We welcome that process and are prepared for it."
Traylor, the team’s former director of safety, security and risk management, filed a lawsuit against Suns Legacy Partners, LLC, accusing the company of discrimination, harassment and retaliation. He also alleged that the team retaliated against him after he reported weapons breaches.
The Suns called the allegations Taylor made against the franchise "delusional and categorically false."
"Guest safety is our top priority," a Suns spokeswoman told ESPN last week. "We continue to meet and exceed safety expectations. We regularly conduct security tests, which is standard across the industry. We have used these proactive measures to ensure we are operating at the highest level of safety and preparedness."
Fox News Digital reached out to a Cunningham rep for comment.
She was traded to the Fever from the Mercury in the offseason. She signed an extension with the Mercury before being traded and called Phoenix her "home away from home."
Cunningham sat out of Saturday’s game against the Chicago Sky with an ankle injury.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched an investigation into U.S. Master's Swimming after an event in San Antonio at the end of April saw a biologically male trans competitor win five women's events.
Multiple female competitors told Fox News Digital after the meet that they did not even know the trans athlete was a biological male.
Now, Paxton's office is taking action, as Texas has a law in place to prohibit trans athletes from competing in women's and girls' sports.
"The policy of U.S. Masters Swimming, which allows men to compete in women’s events, is reprehensible and could violate Texas's consumer protection laws," Paxton said in an announcement. "Not only is this policy insulting to female athletes, but it also demonstrates deep contempt for women and may violate Texas law. I will fight to stop these unfair policies and never back down from defending the integrity of women’s sports."
The trans swimmer, 47-year-old Ana Caldas, dominated all five races the athlete competed in, taking gold in the women's age 45-49 category in five races, including the 50- and 100-yard breaststroke, freestyle and the 100-yard individual medley.
Louisiana woman and long-time swimmer Wendy Enderle said she filed the request for an eligibility review after finding out that one of the competitors she has faced for years was transgender, via a news article stemming from last week's incident.
Now, Enderle is grateful to see Paxton's office taking action.
"I was very encouraged by the announcement that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is launching an investigation into U.S. Masters Swimming after allowing a transgender swimmer to unfairly compete against me and fellow female swimmers last month in San Antonio," Enderle told Fox News Digital.
Enderle is also hoping that the U.S. Department of Justice will take action as well. President Donald Trump has had an executive order in place since Feb. 5 that requires publicly funded institutions to ban trans athletes from women's and girls sports. USMS is not publicly-funded, however.
"I hope that U.S. Masters Swimming quickly adopts a more appropriate and fair policy in line with World Aquatics policy. I also would like to see U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi look into whether U.S. Masters Swimming violates Presidential Executive Order number 14201, Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports, dated February 5, 2025," Enderle added.
"I am not a legal expert, but it is my opinion that USMS violates this order as they are an athletic association and sport-specific governing body as referenced in the order. Thank you to the great state of Texas for standing up for women and girls!"
In June 2023, Texas passed the Save Women's Sports Act, which bans trans athletes from competing in girls and women's sports and only allows students to compete in the gender category listed on their birth certificate. The law only allows schools to recognize changes made to birth certificates that were made to correct a clerical error.
More legislation aimed at protecting females from trans inclusion in sports could soon be signed into law in Texas as well.
Earlier this month, the Texas Senate voted to pass the Texas Women’s Privacy Act by a vote of 20-11. The bill ensures women are safe in their bathrooms, locker rooms, showers and domestic abuse shelters.
Meanwhile, USMS policy allows transgender swimmers to participate in the gender competition category in which they identify, and they may also be recognized for accomplishments, if certain conditions are met.
One of the two conditions requires that hormonal therapy appropriately be administered continuously and uninterrupted in a verifiable manner for no less than one year. The other condition is proof of testosterone serum levels measured during the last twelve months being below five nmol/L (144.25 ng/dL).
Trans swimmers who do not meet those requirements can still participate in the women's category, but their times are removed from the submitted results, and they are not eligible for official times, places, points, records, Top 10 or other forms of official recognition.
Fox News Digital has reached out to USMS on the pending investigation for comment.
Tyra Mae Steele is poised to become a rising star on the WWE NXT roster as soon as she steps into the ring on the brand following her "WWE Legends and Future Greats" ("WWE LFG") victory.
For Steele, pro wrestling was not always in the cards.
Anyone who watched the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 may know Steele as Tamyra Mensah-Stock. She won the gold medal in the women’s 68-kilogram freestyle competition, becoming the first female African American and first Black female wrestler to win Olympic gold.
She became a viral sensation during the Summer Olympics.
However, she told Fox News Digital in a recent interview that the drive to stay on the wrestling mountain top began to wither away and that freestyle wrestling was becoming more of a chore.
"I’m a natural athlete. God gave me a natural ability to just crush people and I love doing it and I enjoy doing it. When I won the Olympics, I had a lot of pleasure in it, but it was during COVID when nobody was around, and it was very, very unfortunate that there wasn’t anybody in the crowd," she said. "I wrestled for another two years and I didn’t have much love for it.
"Every time I would wrestle somebody, it was easy overseas. And what I love is putting in hard work and having somebody combat me and just having that fight. That what brings me joy and pleasure – I don’t know why, I’m sadistic, but whatever you want to call it, it’s the fighter in me."
Steele said she got "bored" with Olympic training, and when WWE knocked on her door, she answered. She entered WWE in 2023 with hopes of eventually getting to the main roster.
"When I found out that WWE wanted to take me on, I’m thinking, ‘This is going to be a new venture and this is going to be exciting, it’s going to be something that’s fresh for me,’" she said. "And I feel like for me, it was my calling from God. It’s been an absolute blessing with me being here. I have found, I swear, joy in life all over again."
Putting weight cutting behind her and the ability to showcase her personality more was something that appealed to Steele as well. She embraced the new challenge in a new sport.
"So, why am I here? I’m here because I feel like I’m called to be here," she told Fox News Digital. "I’m here because I enjoy the fight. I’m here because I get a fresh start to be a new person and to get my face and my energy into new eyes. And, I can also bring my fans that are like, ‘No, wait, do another Olympics.’ No, no, no. See me in the WWE. It’s gonna be epic."
Steele won the "WWE LFG" competition on the women’s side and now gets a chance to really feature her skills in NXT.
She will join an exciting division that features female wrestlers who could be poised to make the leap to either "Raw" or "SmackDown" at a moment’s notice.
